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Coffin Underground

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About this listen

It is 1978 and senior police John Coffin has been drafted back to South London to oversee the Local Detective branch. Here, he becomes involved in a game so deadly that everyone is a possible victim...

©1988 Gwendoline Butler (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Detective Mystery Police Procedural Traditional Detectives Fiction

Editor reviews

The syrupy voice of veteran performer Nigel Carrington drips out of this production of Coffin Underground, luring listeners into the haunting and suspenseful world John Coffin. From the mind of Gwendoline Butler comes another exciting chapter in the life of Scotland Yard’s Chief Superintendent. The house at No. 22 Church Row has garnered a reputation of late for being haunted, but as Coffin finds out, there is something more complex and sinister afoot than anyone could imagine. With Carrington’s eerie and compelling delivery, listeners will find it’s only a matter of minutes before they’ve become absorbed with John Coffin and his quest for the truth behind No. 22 Church Row.

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leisurely and comfortable may be odd words to describe a murder story but that's what this is like. This is the second book I've listened to in the series, the first one was Coffin on the Water, which, originally I thought was the very first John Coffin books written but after a bit of research I've found out it wasn't. I don't feel I missed out on not having listened to/read the volumes between that one and this one because they are good as stand alone titles, but I was glad I'd listened to the first one because it gave me a bit of background.. I started listening to them because they were in the Plus catalogue and am glad I did. The narration is excellent. Comfortable to listen to because it's not edge of your seat... it's leisurely but with an interesting murder story at it's core.

leisurely and comfortable

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I disliked the narrator - his voice is affected and patronising in tone.

The story started off reasonably well, but none of the characters were sympathetic and the central premise was ridiculous.

The sexualisation of a child is bizarre, unnecessary and unpleasant.

Coffin himself does very little and none of it well.

I only listened as it was included with membership. I would have been annoyed if I had paid for this dated and unpleasant nonsense.

Abrupt ending and unconvincing story

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Obviously a product of the time when “caring parents” believed that the Dungeons and Dragons game was demonic, and led teens to do horrible things to themselves and others. The ending sounds as if the author fulfilled her obligation to meet a certain word count, and she contrived to write not one word more, which is to say, it is abrupt and incomplete. Good for falling asleep to (it worked for me 3 nights in a row). Thank goodness it’s free, because it’s worth every penny.

Dungeons and Dragons bad. Teens scary.

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